18 



menced to appear, and very likely they will soon be continued. 

 I am informed by Dr. Boas, that eleven of THE TALES HE HAS 

 BROUGHT FROM BAFFIN'S LAND are also ] known in Greenland 

 while other ten contain Greenlandic elements. That concerning 

 Sedna has been published in a German newspaper. 



A few additional tales have been received from the West- 

 coast of Greenland since my Tales and Traditions of the 

 Eskimo (1875) were published. They are all welcome additions 

 to the main collection, but we have especially to express our high 

 opinion of THE SERIES ACQUIRED by*Capt. Holm and Mr. Knutsen 

 during their wintering ON THE EASTCOAST. Their manuscript 

 contains 57 stories of which 6 are versions of the same by other 

 narrators; 13 are identical with tales from other Eskimo tribes; 

 in other 13 more or less elements of the latter are recognised, 

 but 16 must presently still be considered peculiar to the east- 

 coast. The remainder are partly songs, and partly of a more 

 descriptive character. 



In the narrative of Jacobsen's journeys in Alaska a few 

 scattered remarks are given touching the folklore. The most 

 interesting of these informs us about the existence of Eskimo 

 RUINS ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER YUKON, not far from its 

 outlet. He states that traditions exist about a comparatively 

 large Eskimo population having lived here, and he adds that 

 in former- times Alaska must have had several times more in- 

 habitants than now. He suggests that the site of the ruins 

 must be in some way connected with the boundary line between 

 the Eskimo and the Indians, though the two nations are not so 

 strictly divided here as eastward on the American Continent. 

 If, as before suggested, the original Eskimo have come from the 

 Interior, their transition to the state of a sealhunting coast- 

 people must of course have taken time. This would give rise 

 to a temporary accumulation of inhabitants towards the river 

 mouths and in this way agree with the existence of these 

 ruins. 



